Slade: Harsh Beginnings
by NevermorePsychicSorceror
Summary: We all know Slade as ‘evil’, but is he truly full of malice and thoughts of destruction, or just lonely and misunderstood?
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.

Slade: Beginnings

Lightning flashed slightly in the night sky. Everyone in the lonely, relinquished town was sleeping, thoughts dancing about their minds within dreams. That is, everyone except a little boy, with a colossal task to accomplish.

Feet scurried across the chilled floor of highest building. The steps soon came into rhythm with the music of the rain descending. Drip, drip, scurry, scurry. The boy went hastily down each passageway of the dark and dismal sector trying hopelessly to find what he was looking for. He didn't even want to do this, but he knew that there was no choice. Innocent lives depended upon his retrieval of this enigmatic object. His father would do no more damage to this once beautiful city.

Flashes of lights, pounding of thunder, yells in the distance. Keep running his mind told him, but his petite body could not handle the pressure of running any longer. Gradually his body slowed, and he collapsed panting on the floor. I've failed him, the young one thought, and then the thoughts within his minds came to a halt. Dead silence filled the building.

"I found him near the west gate. Passed out on account o' exhaustion, I suppose. Don't know why a kid this young would be in a closed museum at this time of night." They were talking about him. What happened?

The two guards inspected the child closely. A kid this young should be with his parents, they thought. And why was he there in the first place? So many possibilities ran through their aching minds, just itching to know who the youngster was. Both security guards knew that there must be a secure reason why he was there. It couldn't be that it was just a game, just a dare, right?

Pain shot through the child's body. The steady agony became unbearable…What had he did to create such pain? Once every while his eyes were able to pry apart from one another. It barely allowed a glimpse at the clock, but all he got was disappointment, which he found was just as saddening as the discomfort coursing through his body. Dad knows…he knows…knows…

He was asleep.

"Yeah, he's been muttering things all day. I don't think he is awake. I tried a couple times to wake him. Didn't do any good. It's hard, ya'know, seeing him writhing in agony like that." He could hear them talking once again. This one, he noticed, was the security guard who had found him.

The other man was a doctor. He looked utterly perplexed. If this injury was merely of exhaustion as the security guard explained, Why hadn't it of worn off by this time? Doctor, he decided to call him, for he couldn't make out what his name was, walked around the child many times. No bruises, no scars, no blood, nothing. It almost seemed that the pain the boy was feeling was all in his mind.

"Contact me when he wakes up," Doctor said. He wanted to say "if", but being pessimistic wasn't what he did best. Whoever this security guard was, he must have cared as to what happened to the young one. Or at least was curious about his origin.

Once the doctor left, there was cessation of sound. This let him do some contemplation of his own. Where was he? Still in the museum? No, he couldn't be. There would be visitors at the museum. That would make noise. Children, parents, grandparents, it would all make sound, and he didn't hear anything. Unless he was in a staff room. He got frustrated. Why was he stupefied to this one spot? Wasn't there anything he could do? Father would be coming, he always knows, and then it'll be my fault. Back to the innocent people getting hurt. The city becoming destroyed, piece by piece until, slowly, he becomes King. I've seen it happen in the darkness of my dreams. And when it does, no one would be able to confront him.

But he was wrong.

More voices. More hours. More time passing by. Precious time; time that he needed desperately if he wanted to survive. If he wanted _others_ to survive.

One day, he finally got up. Pain still rang through his body, but he was now so use to it that it was only a continuous, dull ache. It was dim in the room he woke up in, but he could make out shadows around him. His eyes came into focus and he looked closely on the name engraved on the wooden door.

_Officer Caiden Crow_

It must be his office. That means I'm still at the museum. How long has it been since I passed out? A day? Two days? A week? His head throbbed uncontrollably. He felt really dizzy as well, but he had to get out. He had to get away from this place, this town, and his father forever.

The boy sneaked quietly out of the room and into the hall. It was still dark, and not even any security guards were around. He went around looking for the exit, opening doors carefully as to not attract any attention. In his search he found a staff room, and immediately his eyes focused upon a snack machine. His mind was so concentrated on other things that he hadn't for one moment realized how hungry he actually was.

Without thinking, the boy shoved his shoulder into the mechanism. Candy, chips, and a couple packs of gum fell out of their slots. 'It'll have to do for now.'

"Did you hear that? It came from over there." Oh no, voices. He could hear the people coming towards him, and he panicked.

The door opened slowly and the two men entered, unknowing. "H-h-hello…Is anybody in there?" The boy chuckled slightly under his breath. People are always afraid of what they cannot see.

They searched thoroughly, though they didn't find anything. Both looked puzzled, but didn't push the issue any further. It must have been only their imaginations playing tricks on them after too much caffeine.

"Maybe you should go get your ears checked. Your hearing is getting a little rusty after hitting fifty, eh?" The much younger security guard joked. The other glared at him, but retaliated, "You said you heard it too!" But the man just shrugged and laughed.

Once they had left the room it was safe for the boy to leave the cupboard. Then he wasted no time and went straight to the stairs. He dashed down the stairs like a bolt of lightning and once he was down all of the steps (which seemed like hundreds), left the building. He could no longer go back and fetch the object he was supposed to. Father had given him the task and for taking too long, had failed him. Even if he retrieved it, which could have turned out worse than the last time, it still wouldn't have mattered. He had had a deadline, and now he needed to flee.

"Sorry, Dad." He muttered.

And just like that, young Slade disappeared like a shadow in the night.


	2. Leaving

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.

Slade: Beginnings

People in this town never could fathom the fact that people in their neighborhoods could be in extreme danger. Or that the inhabitants of the houses that surround theirs could hold those who create the jeopardy that others feel in their hearts. But they discerned, somewhere deep within themselves, even though they tried desperately to deny it, that the city wasn't perfect at all.

Clouds covered the night sky, eliminating any light that could shine through by the stars or moon. Outside was calm, but inside a single house, evil was surfacing once again.

Houses shook, lives shattered. Roars could be heard throughout this land, and evil's temper began once more. The boy had disappointed him, his boy, just like last time, but the result would not be a burlesque. He would make sure that his boy suffered for failing him. No one defied him! Nobody would make a fool out of the all mighty Odysseus!

"Get everyone you can to search for Slade. Make certain that he can't escape my wrath. This time Slade won't be as fortunate. No…I want you to make sure that he will never even imagine challenging my rule." Odysseus's face was reddened in fury. Everything he touched was immediately annihilated, but his assistant, Madam Liannaka, didn't even flinch.

Madam Liannaka sat down at the table. With the most tranquil face she gazed at him. After a long moment of not blinking while Odysseus glowered at her, she spoke. Her speech was broken, as if she was trying to battle her own voice, but finally her voice won.

"Yes, mighty Odysseus. It shall be done."

Odysseus leaned back and smiled. It was a corrupt smile, one that most would fear, but Liannaka's state did not alter at all, she just sat there. Odysseus turned around and went into another room. Madam Liannaka followed him. He waved her to a shelf, and she went to it. Lying on top of it was a map of the city of Kurou. It showed the surrounding mountains, its lakes and rivers, and all of its major landmarks. Liannaka picked it up slowly and brought it over to Odysseus. All of her movements were slightly robotic. Snatching up the map right out of the lady's hands, he unfolded the map.

Odysseus got out a pen and began drawing lines around the city, showing all feasible routes he could take to flee the large city. He circled some of the important places that Slade could rest, and after analyzing it prudently returned it to the madam.

"Send out search parties to find him. There will be no petty excuses if he escapes. Understood?" said Odysseus. "Use your powers if you need to. Just don't let him escape!"

"I understand. I will not displease you." There was hesitation in her voice yet again.

The "mighty" and huge Odysseus shooed his assistant away. She had to get straight to work if Slade was to be found. Slade may have been only twelve, but he definitely wasn't stupid. He had wandered those lonely streets many times before, and knew how to get around. Though with some kids the chase to find them in the city of Kurou would be very simple, it was not the case with Slade. But Odysseus was positive that Madam Liannaka, his slave, would get the child back. Even if she had to do it by force.

Madam Liannaka turned around and began walking towards the door to exit the grand house. As she was doing so something caught her eye. She turned around and instead of going out the door, looked out the front window. On the other side of the street, the street that housed those in denial about their "wonderful" city, was a shadow. A shadow that moved hastily in the night, only being seen under the towering street lights. And when that silhouette came clearly into view, it was learned by her that it was none other than Slade himself.

And a tear rolled down her cheek.

Slade, her son, was alive and right across the street, yet now it was her task to retrieve him, and, if necessary, kill him.

Faster, faster, faster. Slade ran and ran down the street tempted to look just to his right. Just take a glance at the place he was ashamed to call home, but he couldn't. It would slow him down. The sooner Slade would get out of this evil town the better. He knew it was wrong, that people could get hurt if he fled, but his own fright consumed him.

His plan was very simple: Go up over the mountains surrounding Kurou and continue on gradually. But that was much easier said than done. It would take a long time just to _reach _the mountains surrounding this vast city. Then he'd have to go over the looming mountains, which was barely done by adults! Most of the adults who travel up or down the mountains use a car anyway. To some climbing the steep mountains of Kurou would be almost impossible, but Slade had to. Even if it would take an extensive amount of time and patience.

Now, while listening to only the sound of his footsteps, he asked himself a question. Is my life precious enough to me that I will concur everything that is thrown at me?

But now something makes him look back at the place that haunts his thoughts. He thinks he sees something, but it could be is mind playing tricks on him. Slade was very stressed. How many kids must flee from their parents? It wasn't only him traveling down that supposedly calm and quiet street. There was another, a lady.

Someone was following him.

Alarmed, Slade began to sprint. They couldn't have found him already. No, his father wasn't that agile. Maybe it was someone else, just an insomniac going for a jog. Anxiety overcame him. He turned streets, rounded corners, rushing through neighborhoods unknown to him. Where was he going? He didn't really care…Just away from whoever had been following him.

Finally he reached the middle of the town. There was only a minor change in the amount of people out in about, but somehow he felt safer. He couldn't recognize anyone around him, which, in this case, was good. Although he thought the person following him was gone, he continued to sprint. What if they caught up somehow? He couldn't chance it. Odysseus would have his life and others as well.

Every now and then Slade thought he saw something out of the peripheral of his eye. It was like a dark figure that blended into the darkness that was. Then it just disappeared and Slade went on, trying to calculate how far off he was from his original escape route. His path veered off to the right, while in the chase he got off course and went to the left. Now he'd have to travel right a little bit.

A dark figure once again presented itself behind Slade. The figure looked a lot like a shadow, only I a 3-D form that took a more explicit shape. Slade sensed that something was behind him…He could tell. He spun around cautiously, but there was nothing. Was his mind so tired as to him imagining that things were there when they really weren't?

Little did Slade know, the person was still there, watching. Curious about the boy who ran from the museum. Slade just shrugged and continued down his route to Kurou's enclosing mountains.

Just behind him the shadow followed unseen but there just the same. Every now and then the figure would appear from a different something's obscuration. Then, as long as it felt it safe, it stayed and strolled behind the boy. Sometimes it would be only a few steps behind, and sometimes it would be as far as one street behind him. Just as long as the boy didn't know they were there. But it didn't quite stay that way for as long as it wanted to.

The cycle went on and on for hours. Form from a shadow, looks over shoulder, form is gone, continues on unseen, repeated. They both did this all the way until they reached the base of the mountain, where many hiking trails began. The sun was rising, and finally Slade caught his pursuer red-handed.

"Who are you?" He screamed and lunged out in frustration.

The dark figure winced and began to back away slowly. Finally, the veil of darkness that had surrounded the person disappeared and all of the person's features could be seen with much better clarity. It was a girl, about the same age as he. She looked very frightened, so Slade tried to look less irritated.

"I'm sorry. You came from the museum looking so scared I just got curious but I didn't want you to see me so I tried to conceal myself." The girl turned around and looked like she was going to go back into the city. More cars and people were starting to form outside.

"It's okay, but who are you? How did you do that," Slade pointed to a shadow on the ground, "whatever it was you did?"

The girl looked back at Slade and stared at him. Her face had a worried expression, and her grey eyes were misty. Slade could tell that the girl hadn't wanted him to find out she followed him. But why hadn't she just asked him instead of toyed with him all the way to the grounds of the mountains. She definitely seemed enigmatic and dark, but was she dangerous?

"You won't tell anyone, will you? People would hate me if they knew. They always fear those different from them. It's in their nature," she said. "My name is Psyche Crow. I'm not sure exactly what I can do, but Dad says it isn't normal. I think he hates me."

_Crow. _Slade knew that name. Psyche must be the officer's daughter. It would make sense though. She must have been there to see her dad and saw me leave the museum.

Slade tried to make her feel better, "What is normal, anyway?"

The girl looked around and pointed her hand at Slade's shadow. All of a sudden his shadow came to life. It was the same size and shape as Slade, but it was the same color as the night. Then the shadow, on Psyche's command, fell back into its original space.

"Not that." She said.

Slade was amazed at the girl's power. Not only could she bring shadows to life, but she could also become a shadow and travel through the shadows as a hideaway. But Slade sensed immediately that the girl did not wish to be able to do any of those things.

Psyche inched closer to Slade; "I don't know when things happen. I sometimes can control it and then there are other times when nothing will happen. Once the shadows didn't obey me and almost destroyed my dad. He got really mad at me and said that it was all my fault." She started to cry. Slade felt much sympathy for the girl. Odysseus wasn't the nicest person in the world either.

"Sorry," Slade told her.

Slade took a seat on a rock near him. Psyche took the other one. They both sat there in silence for a long while, and then Psyche spoke again.

"I don't even want to stay here. Kurou is so big; you never have space to breathe except at night. Even then there are some people out and about." She looked over at Slade. "So…What's your story?"

Slade was leery. He wasn't sure if he could trust her. What if Odysseus made her to go after him? He knew that Odysseus would do anything to find him, even if he pulled innocent people into the mix.

Psyche sighed. "Come on…Spill it!" But Slade still wasn't exactly sure. After a moment of thinking, Slade finally came to a decision.

"I'm running away from my father. It is as simple as that. You know how some parents can be…Hurtful, mean." He was tempted to say "destructive", but kept that thought to himself. Psyche seemed honest and nice, but in this lubricous and distasteful city no one could be dependable.

"Why were you in the museum though?"

Psyche was very inquisitive. Could this mean that she wasn't to be trusted, or just really cared about him? Either way, he was in too deep to stop answering questions. He's have to tell her everything. Well, almost everything. Some things were better left unsaid.

"My dad…wanted me to," he paused for a moment, as if only now digesting the intensity of the situation, "steal something. I had to thieve a piece of art that was supposedly very valuable. It was valuable to Odysseus anyway."

"That place is huge. How did you even find it? Did he have a map of the whole place? Even I don't know my way around that place!"

"I didn't…I kind of collapsed before I got to it." Slade said.

"Oh. Did they turn you in? Shouldn't you be in jail right now?" Psyche was definitely interested now.

Slade got up and started walking up the trail. Psyche followed him, but hesitated before doing so. She had never been out of Kurou before, even with her parents! Of course she wanted to see other places around the world, but to go without even telling her parents?

And she finally made her decision.

"I'm going with you." Psyche announced, but Slade kept walking up the mountain path.

"Okay," he said. He knew that Psyche felt the same way he did, and thought that she could be help in any situation that would occur while traveling up the mountain.

Then they kept hiking up the towering mountains that formed around Kurou nonchalantly. They were just flecks on a tremendous green mountain, as though they both didn't matter in the big picture that was the world. But that wasn't true in the tiniest bit.

Much farther down the mountain though, someone knew that those flecks were none other than Slade and Psyche, and even though it pained her deeply to do so, had to report it to Odysseus. "Sorry," she muttered under her breath.

She flicked open her communicator. Down on the screen was Odysseus's terrible face glaring up at her. His jet-black hair and emerald green eyes were both looking extra cold, yet she wasn't intimidated in the least bit.

"Sir, they are escaping up the mountain. They are moving very quickly, probably on account of the girl's amazing powers. What is my command?"

"Follow them, but make sure that they are unaware of your presence. I want to see where they are going. Report back to me once you find anything new out." His voice was rough and dominant.

"And you sir? What are you going to do?"

Odysseus never responded her. The screen went blank abruptly. Liannaka sighed and put the communicator away and looked up the tremendous mountain. It would be a long way up, but she knew she must follow them silently. She must be camouflaged into the background; she must be unseen, unheard, and definitely be subtle while taking notes of their activity. It was a large task, and a grueling one, but she must do it, even if it troubled her to do so.

And so, Liannaka, red hair blowing in contrast with the trees and bushes of the mighty mountains, began the climb up the mountain. Succeeding two children full of energy with both having extreme power would definitely not be easy.


	3. Am I Afraid of Darkness?

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.   
Slade: Beginnings 

Halfway up the mountain, the danger of their leaving was truly realized.

It had been just another day of traveling up the big sloping trail emptying out into another Unknown City on the other side of the mountain. Slade walking, panting, lungs heaving, sweat rolling off his cheek from the sun in midday. Psyche hiding in shadows, growing in power, making sure no one was following them. Little did she know, Psyche wasn't being as thorough as possible. Someone indeed was following them, and stealing all of their secrets.

"Let's stop." Slade said, sitting down on a large boulder.

A black streak hurled towards him and stopped immediately before the huge stone. Psyche appeared from the dark coating looking almost as equally exhausted. She did look happy though, Slade thought, even though the thought of only being halfway up the mountain was discouraging. Psyche took a seat next to Slade.

She glanced over at him. The sun was gleaming down upon him, and he didn't look very healthy. He was truly exhausted, drained of all of his energy. It was hard to imagine that just two days before she had seen him running from the museum, from the town, from his life. And she had done exactly the same thing.

Her life had been pretty normal until she found out about her shadow powers. Psyche had been just another girl in the Kurou Middle School, sharing gossip and joking with her also normal friends, but that would be no longer. Her parents were loving…enough. They gave her everything she could ever need, yet there anger and bickering almost brought her to the brink of insanity. In the heat of all their fighting, she had always been blamed, than forgiven by being bought more happiness. The sad thing was that, for a while, it had worked. Then back to the quarrels and arguments, and she noticed that in her parents hearts there were no longer feelings, just dark shadows. That thought ate at her and caused her so much pain inside that she began to feel the dark shadows as well.

And one night she turned into a shadow.

"Did I tell you how I found out I had my powers?" Psyche asked, staring blankly into the forest. Slade shook his head. It never really occurred to him that she came about the powers. He'd always assumed that she was born with them, not acquired.

Her arms wrapped around her knees. She looked over at Slade, and with all of the honesty in her shadowy heart, told him her full story.

Slade could tell that she didn't like abilities at all. They made her feel significantly different from others. But she had definite reasons to feel so diversified. The first time her powers were used they accidentally harmed her father because he was angry with her. Other times it just happened, and even if it didn't hurt anyone at all people judged her. Though the most devastating thing happened on the same day she met Slade. It happened, unfortunately, at the place where she was the most vulnerable, where no one knew her secret. It happened at school.

Pain struck through Psyche's heart that day at Kurou Middle School. When the accident took place all of her friends were around her. Misery, cessation of friendships, it all took place. It all started her stupid teacher making a comment on her test grade, then thew students laughing. She was always one to get the highest grades of the class, yet on this test she misread one section of directions and got all the answers wrong. Her teacher didn't allow her to retake that portion of the test even though Psyche could tell that the teacher knew what she did wrong. And because it wasn't normal for her to get anything wrong.

"I'm disappointed with your scores," she said. "I thought you could do better."

The class turned and stared at her. Why were they looking at her? They all took a dramatic "ohhhhhh"; why had her stupid teacher said that!

Their voices became stronger and stronger in her mind and she just couldn't take it any more. Her hands clenched in a fist of dark power. Psyche's eyes glowed in pure darkness.

"Oh no! It's happening again." Her body was now enveloped in shadows. The whole classroom was looking at her, surprised. By now the teacher had tried to get the students out of the school and signal the principal, but to no avail. She was already uncontrollable, and nothing would be able to stop her.

Psyche glanced up at Slade during this point in the story. His eyes showed empathy for her, which was all she needed. "You know, I almost wish someone had been able to stop me then. That wasn't the end of the story Slade. There's one more part."

In that days evening paper read an article. That article was all about a girl with amazing power. A girl that lived in the city for many years. A girl who had friends like everyone else, but not anymore. She would have to be sent away. The article read as follows:

School is Destroyed by Student 

_Today at Kurou Middle school a dark evil took place. A student there, a girl named Psyche Crow, completely wiped out one wing of the huge middle school. One witness states, "No one did anything wrong, and just suddenly she was glowing in dark light. It was pretty freaky." Our interviewers tell us that the witness was very upset on her beloved school being partly destroyed. _

_The teacher of the student says that she was very shocked to see one of her best students unleash such power unexpectedly. The damage occurred at 1:30 p.m. today. There are no recorded deaths, yet four students are hospitalized and are in extreme care. _

_The parent of one of those children states, "I do not want my child to go to school again until I know that they will be completely safe. As soon as my child gets out of the hospital I am going to switch him out of Kurou Middle School, and hope that others will do the same. I truly believe it isn't the best learning environment for students." We can tell by this statement that she is very angry with the school. "She has the right to be," another child's parent states. "We send our kids to school expecting the best for them, yet this happened anyway. Her child is now in danger. How would you feel if this happened to your child?"_

_There are rumors that the principal of the school will shut it down for renovations. This has not been confirmed though. "He should shut the school down. Without the whole east wing there won't be enough room for all of the students!" Others believe that the school should be shut down permanently, and build another new school under new management. "It is also the principals fault for allowing dangerous students to go to their school. For that I do not believe that the principal should work in this town ever again._

_The principal has not yet commented on any of these remarks. The student Psyche Crow has been said to have ran away, and hasn't been seen. There is a reward to anyone who brings this dangerous "criminal" into the police's hands. Neither of the child's parents has contacted anyone. If anybody knows the child's parents please tell us their number and address so the police can get in touch with them immediately._

_If you have any additional info please make certain to contact someone._

"Now you know everything," she whispered.

Slade listened carefully throughout the whole story. Knowing all of this didn't make him feel any different about Psyche. She had her secrets and he had his. Slade knew that he could be able to trust Psyche after her telling him everything. He wouldn't give up his past so easily though. Not quite yet, anyway.

Down the trail a bit, not that far away, Liannaka opened her communicator once again. Odysseus would hopefully like the news she sent him. She definitely needed some respect from him after all these years in his…service. "Master, I have good news. Very good news."

"What is it?" Odysseus was in his normal mood: angry.

"It's the girl, Psyche. She has a more shadowy past than her pitiful powers," it was no use, Odysseus had finally won. "The girl…She destroyed the Kurou Middle School. This must mean something. Even though she is no match to your infinite power, she still has potential."

"And? You are wasting my time with your silly story! Just destroy them!"

Liannaka knew it would be easier to get rid of them than to make them work for Odysseus, but she was certain that if she did this that it would help them in their reign of evil.

"Master, why not try to get the girl to work with us? She could be helpful."

Odysseus grunted. He obviously wasn't sure that the plan would work, but decided to let her do whatever she could without getting in danger. He still needed an assistant. How could he rule the world without her?

So, without hesitance, Madam Liannaka ran up the trail trying to catch up to Slade and Psyche, and, if she could, get them to work for her. Liannaka had truly, finally, become evil.

All day Slade and Psyche kept going up the immense mountain, even in the scorching heat. Slade wished he could travel in the shadows along with Psyche, or at least she would stop doing it. He didn't have anybody to talk to at all. Sometimes she'd slip out of a shadow to rest or give him a report, but that was all. Slade knew though that Psyche needed to practice. Maybe someday even she'd be able to carry someone in the shadows with her.

"Boo!" Psyche jumped out of a shadow and right in front of Slade. Slade didn't look phased at all. In fact, he just walked around her.

"You aren't any fun, you know that?" she giggled. Slade wondered if she knew how vital leaving Kurou was to both of them.

"This isn't really helping us get off this thing any faster," Slade said in a monotone voice.

Psyche gave a childish scowl to him and then grabbed him by the arm. "What are you doing?" Slade yelled at her. Psyche just laughed, and suddenly all Slade could see was darkness.

"Where are we?" Slade asked Psyche slowly. They were drifting through a sea of gloom, yet Slade didn't feel any worry. The shadows brought a certain kind of safety to him somehow. In the midst of there floating through the blackness, Psyche explained, "I'm finally able to bring you with." She had a smile on her face.

Suddenly Slade didn't find Psyche at all to be annoying, or childish, or immature. Slade was glad she was with him on this journey. For the first time in a while he was truly happy, and he didn't want her to go. He wished they could both stay in this darkness, where time stood still and no pain was felt.

"We are reaching the top of the mountain. It will be easier to go down the mountain than it was to climb it," Psyche spoke. Slade mustn't have been aware of how long they were in the shadows. His comatose state stretched time forever, and he didn't want it to stop for anything.

"Master, Master! Please Master Odysseus, you must pick up. I have horrible news!" Liannaka was terribly distressed, and pacing up and down the vast and lonely mountain.

"What is it?" Odysseus hated being interrupted, especially by someone screaming through his communicator.

"I've lost them. I couldn't keep up. Her powers have evolved faster than I could have ever imagined. She's able to bring _him_ into the shadows and now they are going twice as fast. They must be already at the top! I don't know what to do, there is no way to reach them fast enough, even with my powers."

Odysseus was clearly upset. Through the communicator things were shattering, breaking, being destroyed. "Do whatever it takes. I do not want them leaving the mountain alive, understood?"

"Yes sir, I shall not fail you," yet Liannaka knew in her heart that it would be near impossible. They with their young and energetic bodies would be off the mountain before she was even at the top!

"Get it done, or I'll have to take care of it myself!" The communicator went snowy, and Liannaka trembled. She must get the job done, or who knows what Odysseus could do!

Slade's happiness suddenly stopped as he was dumped out onto the ground. Psyche came out of a shadow as well and landed right on top of him. Slade blushed and quickly got up, looking the other way. Little did he know, Psyche was also blushing a fiery red.

"S-s-sorry…I kind of just…well…landed…because of…" Psyche was stumbling for words.

"Yeah," Slade couldn't help but smiling. This was so embarrassing! He had to say something witty, or at least something to stop the awkwardness.

"Hi," he was so stupid! Hi? That was all he could come up with? Hi?

"Um…hi," okay, he had helped the awkwardness grow!

"Maybe we should go?"

Psyche looked down from the big summit. She could barely see towns below. Her face flushed and she started stumbling. Her foot tripped on a rock, and soon she was rolling down the mountain.

"Psyche!" Slade took after her, running as fast as he could, but he tripped as well and came down the mountain too.

Finally, after rolling for quite a long time, they both stopped. "Are you okay?" asked Slade.

"Yeah, I knew I shouldn't have looked down. I'm kind of afraid of heights. Kind of stupid, right?" Psyche was embarrassed again. This time he refused to say something dumb in any manner.

"Not at all," she smiled at him.

They both walked down the mountain in silence then. Rolling down the hill had at least gotten them down hastily. Psyche thought very hard as she was walking down the peak. Why did she feel so embarrassed over such silly things?

Slade was also thinking, but about something different. Why couldn't he stop smiling? He was happy, yet he knew that of any time to be ecstatic wasn't now. He was on a mountain running away from the city he grew up in with Psyche, and who knows what could be following them at this very moment. Yet none of this really meant or scared Slade at all. Ever since he went into the shadows with her, nothing really mattered much to him. Was this how she felt all the time?

It was dusk, and they were both becoming exhausted. Setting up a camp would take a large amount of time, and so they both stopped near the shade of some trees. Once everything was set up, it was already dark. The stars were shining brightly.

"It's amazing, isn't it? They seem to be larger and more bright than ever," Psyche looked dreamily up at the night sky. Her face lit up from the moonlight. His eyes looked up at the stars.

"Maybe we are closer, being so high up on the mountain? I could just look at them for hours," Slade commented.

And so they just sat there for a while. They didn't say anything—just sat there. Soon they had both drifted off to a deep slumber. Yet Liannaka didn't rest at all; no she was still up to no good, trying desperately to keep up to the youngsters.

"I have to find them and get rid of them before Odysseus does," she muttered while running through the vast trees of the mountain.

While she was running her anger and frustration with Odysseus unleashed on all of the trees in her sight. If someone wanted to find her, they couldn't have an easier trail to follow in a million years.

"How hard is it to find some stupid kids? It's not like they can just disappear in mid air!"

The wrath of her powers and the screams of her frustration could be heard so loudly in the deep forest, even Slade and Psyche could hear them.

"Let's go," Slade had already picked up most of their camp items and was looking back to see how far away the yells were.

"It'll be faster if I take you. She won't be able to see us." Psyche held on to him and immediately they were sent back into the shadowy plane where they drifted, more quickly than before, through the vast darkness around them.

"How will we know if she is near us? How do we know where _we_ are?" Slade had just thought of these questions. All he could see was the darkness, nothing else. How would they know when they were off the mountain? How would they know if the person following them were right behind them?

"I can see both planes at the same time. You can only see the one where you currently are. Mine kind of switches on and off, sometimes being fuzzy and sometimes being seen with much clarity. I've done this so many times now I'm able to see the mountain very well. Don't worry, I wouldn't offer you up to this stalker on a silver platter!" There was the giggle again. It echoed through the shadows, and he felt the same way he had the last time he was there. That made him feel secure, even though this probably was the scariest time of his life.

"Thanks…I think," Slade looked over at Psyche. She was chuckling slightly. He'd made her laugh!

"Just about a half a mile to the bottom of the mountain," she told him softly.

Slade looked more extensively at the darkness that was flowing in all directions around him. People are afraid of the dark, yet the way he felt at this moment was the opposite. He felt extremely calm. Were these shadows as scary as people make them out to be?

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but is the person still following us?" Slade wished he could see both planes as well.

"I kind of hoped you wouldn't ask that because she is really close. Do you know her?" Psyche asked.

Slade wondered who it could be. "I didn't see the face, but it must be someone I know. Describe them to me."  
"It is a woman, if that helps." Good, Slade thought, it isn't Odysseus.

"Not really," Slade said.

Psyche told him, "Whoever she is, she has immense power. You should see how much chaos she is causing!"

Slade pondered this…chaos!

O' mighty lord of chaos, whomever that may be, give your command to me, and you will set me free

Slade muttered this out loud a couple of times as if it were a poem he had memorized. He remembered it from something, though he wasn't quite sure what. It sounded so familiar. Chaos…King of Chaos, which was what he had nicknamed his father, Odysseus. But why did the poem seem so familiar!

"Will you stop muttering? It is hard to see two planes at once, but with your constant muttering it is making it really difficult! What is that stupid poem you are saying anyway?" Psyche was teasing, he could tell, but there was some truth. His muttering must be annoying to her. Again, he was embarrassed.

"Oh…sorry," he said.

She looked back at him, having lost her concentration and knowing that she wasn't going to gain it back anytime soon. "That's okay. But really, what is the poem about?"

"I'm not sure. You triggered something when you referred to her as chaotic, though. Why can't I remember where I heard it?" Slade felt like beating his head against a nice, thick wall.

After a while of just floating and no speaking, Psyche started to writhe in pain. She had an expression of anguish on her face, and she began shrieking. The darkness surrounding them started to dissipate, and Slade tried to get her to speak.

"What's wrong? Why are we going back to the other plane?"

"I can't be in here as long as I thought I could, especially with you. The shadows tried taking over me, and almost succeeded. We have to go back." Psyche was clearly distressed. Her face's expression was deeply hurt and scared. They would have to fight against what was following them.

"Are you ready?" Psyche asked through her pain. Her teeth were clenched tightly together in her discomfort.

"Yes," Slade told her. Whatever it was that they must battle, it wouldn't let it scare him.

Together Slade and Psyche crossed onto the other plane, unafraid of what the future may hold.


End file.
